Abstract: Communicating to policy makers Communication among scientists, policy makers and citizens and takes place in a rapidly changing context. During the last decade, enduring public concern over certain science and technology issues despite significant communication efforts, growing citizen demand for involvement in such issues, multiplying examples of non experts actively contributing to shape the agenda of research in fields like biomedicine, have led to rethinking the very meaning of public communication of science in several arenas. In many countries and at the European level, funding schemes and policy documents shifted their keywords from “public awareness of science” to “citizen engagement,” from “communication” to “dialogue,” from “science and society” to “science in society.” Does the change of keywords actually reflect a change in the practice and understanding of science communication? Or it is – as some scholars have suggested - in many cases a reappearance of the traditional, deficit model in a new guise? How are these changes redefining, if ever, the role of science communication? Which theoretical model(s) can best help us interpret this changing scenario?

Biography: Massimiano Bucchi (Ph.D. Social and Political Science, European University Institute, 1997) is Professor of Sociology of Science and Communication, Science and Technology at the University of Trento, Italy.

He has published several books, including Science and the media (London and New York, Routledge, 1998), Science in society. An Introduction to Social Studies of Science (London and New York, Routledge, 2004), Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology (with B. Trench, London and New York, Routledge, 2008), Beyond Technocracy. Citizens, Politics, Technoscience (New York, Springer, 2009) and essays in international journals such as History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, Nature, New Genetics and Society, Science and Public Understanding of Science.

He has served as advisor and evaluator for several research and policy bodies, including the US National Science Foundation, the Royal Society, the European Commission and the European Food Safety Auhority.

He has carried out research and given seminars at several international institutions, such as the Royal Society, London School of Economics, University of California Berkeley, Royal Academy of Sciences Sweden, Science University Tokyo, Rikken Institute, American Association for the Advancement of Science and received several recognitions for his work, including the Mullins Prize awarded by the Society for Social Studies of Science (1997) and the Merck-Serono special jury award for science books (2007).

He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Public Understanding of Science and chairs the international committee organizing the 2012 World Conference on Public Communication of Science in Technology in Florence.

He regularly contributes to leading Italian newspapers Repubblica, La Stampa-TuttoScienze e Nòva-Il Sole 24 Ore. www.soc.unitn.it/sus/mb.htm